Chick-Fil-A--What do I think?

                I am not one to tread water, nor am I one to jump in the pool without viewing the water to see what the weather is.  I try to think before I speak, so here is my thought to answer the people that want to know.  There are 10 different issues with Boston’s “decree” about Chick-Fil-A.  I base them off of legal ideas and past precedencies.

                First of all, the mayor of Boston is an elected official.  He has a term.  If people are in an uproar about that decision then do not elect him again.  However, this works as a double sword because the mayor’s decision is finite, and the next mayor could very well allow the branch to operate since the office of mayor decided to ban the restaurant off of his own authority.

                Second issue is that the same psychological proof about the ‘same sex’ gene is the same proof used to say that a person could be born with criminal behavior.  There are still many debates about whether this is a nature or nurture mind set.  If a person were a Christian, then they could argue that psychology has proven that no man is perfect, and we are all born with a sin nature.  However, there is more to consider.  If people view sexual orientation as they do a race, then it is a well known fact that Chick-Fil-A does not hire/fire based on sexual orientation but on the work merit of the prospective employee.  The chain does not have signs hanging that states it hates gays.  Even further, the chain does not refuse to serve people based on sexual orientation.  In fact, the chain chooses to serve people based on their want to eat their food and the green that lines their pockets.  The only thing that the chain has done is say that it will not back same sex marriage nor will it support the cause because the entity does not agree with the matter.  Unfortunately, for Boston, this would mean that Boston is discriminating against an entity based on its beliefs which, in America, every person, entity, and organization can freely choose its religion, belief system, and so on. 

                A third thing to consider is that same sex marriage is considered a moral issue.  If a person argues that sexual orientation is not a choice, then consider this.  Why are more people against a chain that disagrees with same are sex marriage, yet there are many white country clubs that are able to pick and choose whether they want to even serve or include black members?  Can a person hide whether they are black, white, Asian, Hispanic, etc?  Why are KKK meetings still allowed in various communities?  If the world is going to attack Chick-Fil-A, then they need to start with the KKK members, country clubs that are exclusive only allowing specific races in, attack the elite societies formed to only admit people of a certain race, and crush the Neo-Nazi movement!!!  Since we are so bold America attack those organizations too.  Once again, I am not taking a side, but I am pointing out the plywood in the country’s eye.  Eliminate the glass ceilings in various communities that encourage racism.  It happens in different communities of different races.  Depending on where you are, there is a place in America that discriminates whatever race you are…  There are places that black people are afraid to go, and there are places where white people are afraid to go.  There are communities where Asians, Jews, or Hispanics are discriminated against and the list goes on.  Since we are so bold to attack Chick-Fil-A for its beliefs, then let’s attack something that affects everyone.  Take a stand against that.

Fourth statement: is it right for a city that claims freedom to impede upon the freedom of another organization simply because of its ideology.  The company is not spreading hate, nor is it advocating violence.  It merely states that it is against same sex marriage. 

Then there are more questions to pose…   Would the city of Boston do the same for a KKK clan rally or business meeting?  What is Boston doing about hockey and specific comments made/tweeted?  This means that Boston must take the lead in the fight against racism, and all inequality.  You made yourself the pinnacle supposedly, so now you need to take the lead if you are that concerned.

I have served in the military and worked side by side with people I did not always agree with, but I would fight with or for them in a heartbeat.  Wouldn't Boston prove to be the "bigger" person by allowing the restaurant there?

Boston and others are making Chick-Fil-A a martyr.  Because so many argue about same sex marriage being a moral decision, this boycott may end up increasing customers in other areas that are opposed to same sex marriage, they are also giving free advertisement.  Any speak is good when it comes to business if you have the right PR (Public Relations) manager.

Another thought is that this is being made into a bigger issue.  If no one gave wind to it, then none would even know of the lack of support for same sex marriages.  For a Christian, persecution is not wanted, but it is taught that we should find joy in persecution.  Congratulations, you have just awarded and made Chick-Fil-A a hero Mr. Mayor in Boston.  I am not taking sides, but my point is that if the Christian hero died to save humanity, and all other Christians want to be just like Him.  In fact, they consider it a reward to face persecution, then you are making the organization stronger.  One Pharisee was wise in his words in a biblical story.  “If God agreed with them, then no one can stop them, and they would just grow stronger, but if God was against them, then they would not last.”  Sometimes, simplying say I disagree and moving on is the best action.

Now, you have created unlikely allies that may give profit and money just because they want their idea to be supported.  Now, there is a corporate face and a person's face.  You have just given teeth to those that oppose same sex marriage.  One of the things that caused people to stand out in many situations is when a face or entity was given to the cause.  You have taken away the faceless Christian that has been scorned for disagreeing with same sex marriage and gave it a face.

The most important thought is that this company may become a flagship.  If it is wanted, an entire community may be able to start war (paper, propagandas, and slogans).  This means that you just threw a match in a can of gasoline that had lots of air supply.  Ever play chess or study history.  This is how prohibition started, this is the current argument about legalizing drugs, and the list goes on.  Once something is boycotted, banned, or cut away.  It allows it to get a different type of support.

 -->If someone really wanted to hurt Chick-Fil-A, then that person would do this, "I am disgusted by Chick-Fil-A response to same sex marriage.  However, the city of Boston is not like that, so we will make every person that supports same sex marriage to rally and sit inside the store to show that we are the bigger people.  We will occupy but not buy anything." It would diffuse the situation and could cause Chick-Fil-A to quietly lose customers simply from the unrest.   It is called peaceful protest, and it worked before, so why not now?  I will not say what my opinion is for this article was meant as a neutral piece.  I do ask a question though.  Why is it that our country can fight so hard over an issue of sexual orientation, but it still struggles with eradicating prejudices, biases, and racism?  What is there to gain by publicizing a disagreement that Chick-Fil-A had with same sex marriage?  No one would have cared if it was not mentioned.  Now Chick-Fil-A is both famous and infamous depending on where you stand?  I will not take a side, but I would ask that if this is a country of free speech, then why ban Chick-Fil-A for stating a disagreement?  I would argue that if the country can accept the Muslims after 9/11, if they can allow others to hate different races freely, if Christians must accept the opinions of others as allowed, then why can the country not just let Chick-Fil-A have their own opinion.  This article is meant to be neutral and not to offend either, but it is a query into what many have asked my opinion on.  I refuse to give a personal opinion on this particular issue, for I have bigger fish to fry, and I firmly believe that this is a pothole that meant to distract from the real issues going on.  For example, what about jobs in America and our economy?  Who are we going to elect for president?  What is the state of our country’s national defense with so much going on in the world?  There are much bigger issues and battles than this.  What about racism?

Reflective Journal Project 2 Entry: Continuous Progress Monitoring and Data Analysis Helping Struggling Readers

Author: Yusun Y. Beck

Written For:
Old Dominion University
Language Acquisition and Diverse Learning Needs (TLED 568)

There are multiple ways that continuous progress monitoring and data analysis can be used to help struggling readers.  Proper assessment allows for an accurate evaluation of the students’ current abilities and their needs.  Having good skills in data analysis allows for the student performance to be accurately portrayed.  Continuous progress monitoring is very important and must go on because each day is a day to help the struggling student to learn and grow to become better readers.

In order to remedy a problem, we must know that one exists.   Data that is not gathered can not be analyzed as well.  Therefore, Evaluation is a very important part of progress monitoring and helping struggling readers.  Reading is very complicated and there could be decoding issues, missed cues, disabilities, or even nervousness.  This is just to name a few of the many problems that could exist.  Assessments are meant to be the beginning of evaluation.  Assessments should be both reliable (consistent) and valid (related to the materials taught).  Measuring progress accurately requires goals and standards for evaluation.  In perfect practice, good evaluation should determine if there is a legitimate problem for the student, gather good accurate data for analyzing, and keep the teacher and student on track in a specific direction.

Evaluation is good for getting raw data, but all collected data must be analyzed or the teacher could hone in on the wrong area.  Therefore, proper interpretation of the results from constant evaluation must be accomplished.  Teachers must understand Informal Reading Inventories (IRI), Running Record Calculations, and Cueing Systems.  Good data analysis simply finds where the confusion is.  For example, teachers must know the difference between visual, structure, and meaning cues to name a few.  These items aid in continuous progress monitoring.

Continuous progress monitoring includes detecting the problem (evaluation) and interpreting data collected through the evaluation process (data analysis).  However, it also includes action.  The teacher’s job is to identify, understand, and attempt to fix the problem.  Progress monitoring helps struggling readers because it allows for constant improvement which is continuously observed.   If there is a road bump that arises then it is handled immediately.

It is never good to wait to solve a problem.  Continuous progress monitoring involves evaluation, data analysis, and teacher student observation with problem solving skills.  It allows for constant and immediate detection and action.  Collected data from the evaluation can be interpreted properly.  Finally, a teacher can begin to work with the student to implement appropriate goals and standards.  The continuous progress monitoring also allows for flexibility to shift a focus on trouble areas and help the student improve faster in an ideal situation. 

Reflective Journal Project 1 Entry: Impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

Author: Yusun Y. Beck

Written for:
Old Dominion University
Language Acquisition and Diverse Learning Needs (TLED 568)

There are both positive and negative effects of NCLB.  The greatest point of NCLB is that it requires accountability at all levels.  It will decrease the availability of teachers while retaining the capable and inclined for the most part.   Students are prepared for high stakes testing, but critical thinking skills may not always be taught.  Accountability is the best of these three impacts…

                Many people argue about NCLB, but few can argue about the fact that it increases accountability.  Every person is held accountable from the Department of Education down to the student.  It accomplishes this by litigation covering thorough consequences that are supported and reinforced.  Accountability will make the available teachers improve; however, not all people respond positively to accountability.

                Some teachers may not want the extra headache of all of the extra paperwork.  In fact, there are some schools that start off tough because of poverty and other issues.  NCLB offers some incentives, but it is never enough.  Some schools may even shut down because of the lack of monetary resources and investment.  Wasn’t there a school that fired all of their teachers?  On a positive note, good and bad teachers may leave, but at least the inclined teachers that are capable of maintaining standards will still be around.  Schools don’t need every teacher to be great though because there needs to be average teachers as well; however, a poor teacher anywhere is just like a bad employee, for it is unacceptable.

                Unfortunately, poor teachers are very probable in this situation.  Every system produces people that learn to manipulate it and meet standards because human error always exists.  NCLB uses high stakes testing as a standard.  Testing is not a good measure of a student’s capability.  Some people simply can’t test.  Some teachers may forgo critical thinking skills and opt to go to the NCLB standards listing and just teach to the test.  It gets results, but do you want a student that knows the answer to a test or one that can apply the answer.  In the military, coworkers that tested poorly did the job well and taught well because they understood it.  Those that tested well did not always understand the overall concept, but they made grade so they knew the answers.

                It is hard to say the absolute impact of NCLB.  NCLB will continue to increase accountability though.  For the most part, it will increase teachers that are both capable and inclined to teach.  Sadly though, it will produce teachers that are more focused on meeting the standards of testing than actually allowing students to learn and enhance their critical thinking skills.  NCLB, like any other program, depends on how it is received, interpreted, and applied.  It is only a beginning though because increased accountability is great with the problems that have been happening.  There still needs to be a greater focus on critical thinking and not just reactionary skills, decoding ability, and comprehension.  A computer can do all of these things, but only a man can critically think.  I personally know this from my experiences with fighting computers in strategy games and always winning no matter the difficulty.  It is my ability to critically think that gives me victory in these games.  It is this ability that separates man from other creatures as well.  Every man wants to know the answer to why, and each person wants to know how to apply what is learned.  No one just wants the answer, yet everyone wants to pass the test that is required.  What is the priority and where is the balance?

Teacher Qualities

Author: Yusun Y. Beck

Activity

Create a list of 5-7 qualities that are most important you that a highly effective

teacher must possess and explain why using your opinion and personal

experiences.

There are several qualities that are most important for a highly effective teacher to possess.  These qualities are basic core values, wisdom, leadership ability, communication skills, balance, persistence, and resourcefulness.  These values should be ingrained in the very fibers of a high quality teacher.  However, they can be gained; of course, it must all start through building and maintaining a system of values.

Basic core values are morals and standards gained and developed which decipher right from wrong.  The most universal system that a lot of people (those who want to generally live right) strive to have involves integrity, service before self, and excellence in all that is done.   Sadly, a person’s system of values must be used to create inner change because not everyone agrees, yet many can respect an honest hard working quality person.  This is where wisdom comes in.

Wisdom is where a person must learn to accept what is done, and that individual attempts to make changes where it is needed.  One person can’t fix everything.  Fortunately, one person can always make a difference somewhere and wisdom guides the teacher to understand what must be done while pointing out where that difference can be made which brings us to leadership ability.

What person can teach without leadership ability?  Believe it or not, teaching is a form of leadership.  For example, police are considered a “city’s finest” because they set an example and teach others through example and proper guidance about the law while enforcing a standard.  Leadership is basically guidance.  Simply put, leadership is about gauging inclination and capability.  A person cannot teach any student without this ability.  Communication is needed to make proper breakthroughs and assessments in this area.

Communication is a key element!  It is a fundamental unit of education.  There are many different ways to communicate, and a teacher must be at least 90% effective in this realm, or fail to really reach the student being taught.  Without too much explanation, communication has three categories verbal, nonverbal, and no communication.  No communication is a bad area.  Some people become married and stop communicating both verbally and nonverbally.  I should know this from experience because I have seen it tear apart many relationships.  A teacher has a professional obligation to each student to maintain the lines of communication through verbal and nonverbal means which brings me to balance.

Balance is needed for every teacher to enrich their classroom.  Teachers are supposed to learn advanced thoughts and relay them to those who do not understand.  If someone thinks that learning basic English in preschool Language Arts is not advanced, then try to learn another language that is completely foreign to you.  Teachers must balance the lessons by trying different scientifically proven methods and taking a middle road of all of the theories without the minutia.  If the balanced approach is not considered, then consider this thought, “Not everyone learns the same, and benevolence is giving to each person what is needed by each person to learn.  This is a form of being fair, honest, and respectful.”  Meet the student where that student is and be persistent.

There is no real explanation needed for persistence.  It is simply being determined to meet a goal with relentless pursuit.  A teacher should never give up on a student.  Walking away is one thing, but a teacher should have the attitude that he/she is the only chance for a positive example to be set.  Teaching is a thankless job and it could take years for a student to finally grasp some major concepts.  Never give up, and keep striving for victory in each student’s life.  This requires resourcefulness.

Resourcefulness allows for a teacher to be persistent without harassing the student or demeaning any person.  It requires tact and etiquette.  Teachers must think outside the box.  If kids love video games, try to incorporate it.  Students like it when teachers try very hard and will sometimes give cues about what they like and don’t like.

Listening is very important for effective teaching.  The life blood of teaching can be said to revolve around various qualities which are basic core values, wisdom, leadership ability, communication, balance, persistence, and resourcefulness.  These values should be well engraved on the heart of all teachers.

Inclusion

Author:  Yusun Y. Beck

Written for:

ESSE 517 Group Activity 1, Fall 2010

Old Dominion University

Overview

Inclusion is a very controversial subject.  However, we should all value children equally; unfortunately, it doesn’t happen in reality.  Each person is valuable, but fair is each person receiving respect and a free from bias education.  Even though, disability may get in the way, educators must give to meet the learning needs of all students.  Teaching is meeting the needs of students to instruct them properly.  Inclusion is the practice in which students with special educational needs spend most or all of their time with non-disabled...  It is highly argued.  Some want everyone to be involved, but others argue that it is not a good thing to do.  What is my philosophy of inclusion?  What role does collaboration play in the education of students with disabilities?  How far must schools go to meet the needs of students with disabilities?  How important is potential academic achievement/social growth in making placement decisions?  What are the rights of the other children?

What is my philosophy of inclusion?

I believe that we must try to reach all children.  Every person has some type of weakness.  A good teacher will try their best to meet the needs of the students, but legally, students are presumed to be in General Education anyway.  Teachers must be sensitive to all of their students while following all individual education plans, guidance, rules, regulations and so on.  Inclusion is needed for all that do not need over excessive aide, and disabled students must be in the least restrictive environment that is possible…  Humility dictates that there be specialist, and we give the specialist some cases that may be impossible for the average teacher, person, adult, or parent to handle.  This humility and honesty is needed for the difficult situations, in the best interests of the student, which leads us to collaborative resources.

What role does collaboration play in the education of students with disabilities?

Simply put, collaboration is needed to meet federal and state standards for teaching students with disabilities in accordance with the Individuals with Disability Education Act 2004, and maybe preparing them for the high stakes testing or No Child Left Behind Act requirements.  Without aid from special education services, students, parents, various agencies, and teachers, little if any positive effect can be gained in the education of these exceptional students.  Our instructor mentioned about giving a 20 year old a high school diploma.  How could this man receive a high school education without the help of many outside agencies?  There are specialists that are able to aid teachers, and teachers should seek help when it is recognized that they are unable to fix a specific problem that a specialist could provide aide in.

How far must schools go to meet the needs of students with disabilities?

Schools should find a way to meet any need.  However, this does not mean that students should not be able to move to a better location or facility that is more geared to help them.  There are special places for extensive aide.  Schools should attempt to use those resources no matter the cost.  It is less expensive to provide a free and appropriate public education to a student by sending them to a centralized school than it is to maintain extensive programs in different schools.  Various school districts should work together at funding centralized locations with highly qualified teachers and staff.  However, there is always a question in mind as to whether the education would be fair in a centralized area, so schools must give each individual at least a quarter of the education or as much as possible in General Education.

 How important is potential academic achievement/social growth in making placement decisions?

All people are equal; of course, separate but equal has proven to not work so well.  Potential academic performance can separate students along with social growth because advance students need to be able to receive a chance to excel too.  Sadly, a lot of people do not have similar abilities.  There is potential in every student to grow pass their present state, but not every student is advanced academically or socially.  Potential academic achievement/social growth is very important in advanced placement in school.  The reality of the situation is that all students must be placed where they will best excel.  There may be social stigmas, but it is up to the educators and leaders in Academia to provide each student a chance to grow to meet their potential.  Any person can be made to grow if their placement is with a well qualified and inspirational person.  This brings us to the rights of the other children.

What are the rights of the other children?

Every child basically has the right to a free appropriate public education among other rights.  People should not be subjected to more than reasonable interruption in the classroom environment.  Each child also has the right to be educated to meet their potential.  Education is a fundamental property right which entails learning the tasks that are needed to maintain a proper living, understanding one’s life/purpose, and achieving growth towards a higher mobility than the present one.

Conclusion

Each child must receive the basic education that is due to them.  Children that were made have a purpose and each one of them is equal.  It is the responsibility of all adults, especially leaders, teachers, and counselors, to provide an appropriate education in and out of school.  Collaboration is essential, for adults that do not have the skills to accomplish a task properly are responsible for either learning the right way or seeking out the help of those that can help or bring light to the current struggle or problem.  Schools should and must find a way to meet a need if at all possible to help students with disabilities.  Potential academic achievement/social growth in making placement decisions is very important, but finding an answer at creating equal education may mean highly qualified teachers and extensive collaborative resources at many different locations.  Educators and others would have to meet the needs of the gifted as well as other exceptional children on the spectrum.  Yes, potential is important and it should help guide the decisions of placement, but how can it be implemented unless each and every educator is highly qualified in all of the placements where a student may be placed.  Each child deserves an education that will prepare them for the future.  If we do not accomplish this task, as adults responsible for child rearing, then we are simply destroying our own future.